Support and Inspiration for Entrepreneurs in Southern Ontario

Organizational Hacks for Your Small Business

Tax time

First thing is first, everyone here is always worried and scrambling about for tax time, and I think the most important thing when starting a business is to save your receipts and always stay on top of everything for tax time. The first thing I find very useful is having yearly binders labeled to help. In that binder, you can have sections for each of your needs within your business, that way when it comes time for taxes you have everything saved, and in sections to keep things efficient. If after each time you conducted an expense you put the receipt into your binder, you would save endless amounts of time, energy and effort at tax time. So start fresh this year, get your binders made, make each new section divided off and get ready to stay organized.

Papers

Taking control of your paper documents is another vast task in small business ownership, and for people who still use paper documents, having the proper filing system set up is key. For me I always go alphabetical and by date. Then at the end of each year, you have your copies and it is already organized.

For my home office, I have everything in binders by category. I have a binder for every bill, insurance, and also personal information that way when I am looking for something, I go and look at my shelf and everything is labeled for me.

Scheduling

Calendars are what help us stay organized but I find some people use multiple calendars and that is something that makes them more unorganized or missing things in the end. Use only one calendar for personal, business and so forth and colour coordinate to differentiate between the different tasks. Having one calendar will help you stay organized in both personal and professional life.

Make a list and check is twice, this isn’t a tip just used for Santa; this works and helps in everyday life. Every morning, I make my list of what I have to do in that day and as I do each task I check it off my list. Making reminders and daily lists are extremely helpful to keeping yourself organized and great for time management

Workspaces

De-clutter your workspace. Part of the biggest issues of not being organized is clutter. Having the least amount of items on your desk as possible is key to staying organized. When you have lots of clutter, you have lots of distractions, which is what prevents people form getting the work done and keeping up with time management.

These are all just a very few initial tips to help you conduct a more organized day to day routine. Organization strategies are key to having a well run and enjoyable business, and sometimes it helps to have a professional get those strategies in place.

Brittany Donovan is a Professional Organizer serving in the Haldimand County and the surrounding areas including Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Brantford, and Simcoe. If you’re yearning to bring direction and order to your home, office, and life, Brittany is the one to start you on that journey! You can find more information about Brittany’s skills and services at www.Brittany-Donovan.com